“The snowy weather throughout January posed numerous challenges in SWMI, including dampening the housing market. The number of houses sold in January fell to 135 houses, the lowest level since 2015. The year started with a 14% drop in inventory of houses for sale, record setting selling prices, and a small reduction in the mortgage rate,” stated Luke Jeffries, Association Executive, Southwestern Michigan Association of REALTORS ® , Inc.
Jeffries continued, “In January 2026, the market ended with an inventory of 614 houses for sale, down from 715 houses for sale in January 2025. Homebuyers in Allegan, Berrien, Cass, and the westerly 2/3 of Van Buren counties were facing a 3.7-months supply of homes, down slightly from the 3.9 supply level in January 2025.”
The Freddie Mac mortgage rate in January was 6.10, down slightly from the December rate of 6.15, and down from the 6.95 rate in January 2025 for a 30-year conventional mortgage.
The number of houses sold in January 2026 decreased 22 percent from that sold in January 2025 (135 vs. 173).
The average selling price in January 2026 changed by less than 1 percent to $418,285 from $416,393 in January 2025. The January 2026 average selling price was 15 percent lower than the $492,373 price in December 2025.
The January 2026 median selling price rose 1 percent ($270,000 vs. $267,000). The median selling price in December 2025 was $295,000.
The median price is the price at which 50% of the homes sold were above that price and 50% were below.
The total dollar volume with fewer sales fell 22 percent to $56,468,522 from $72,036,007 in January 2025.
There were two bank-owned or foreclosed homes as a percentage of all transactions in January, or 1 percent of the closed transactions. The highest percentage in January was 57 percent in 2009.
Nationally:
According to the National Association of REALTORS ®, existing-home sales decreased by 8.4% in January. The report provides the real estate ecosystem—including agents, homebuyers, and sellers—with data on the level of home sales, price, and inventory. Month-over-month and year-over-year sales fell in all regions.
“The decrease in sales is disappointing. The below-normal temperatures and above-normal precipitation this January make it harder than usual to assess the underlying driver of the decrease and determine if this month’s numbers are an aberration,” said NAR Chief Economist Dr. Lawrence Yun. “Affordability conditions are improving, with NAR’s Housing Affordability Index showing that housing is the most affordable it’s been since March 2022. This is due to wage gains outpacing home price growth and mortgage rates being lower than a year ago. However, supply has not kept pace and remains quite low.”
"Due to low supply, the median home price reached a new high for the month of January,” Yun added. “Homeowners are in a financially comfortable position as a result. Since January 2020, a typical homeowner would have accumulated $130,500 in housing wealth.”
Total existing-home sales, which were completed transactions that include single-family homes, townhomes, condominiums, and co-ops – decreased 8.4% from January to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 3.91 million in January. Year-over-year, sales slid to 4.4% in sales.
The median existing-home price for all housing types in January was $396,800, up 0.9% from one year ago ($393,400). – the 31st consecutive month of year-over-year price increases.
In the Midwest, existing-home sales fell 7.1% in sales month over month to an annual rate of 920,000, down 7.1% year over year. The median price in the Midwest was $295,400, up 2.3% from January 2025.
First-time buyers were responsible for 31% of sales in January, up from 29% in December 2025 and 28% from one year ago in January 2025.
Individual investors or second-home buyers, who make up many cash sales, purchased 16% of homes in January, down from 18% in December 2025 and 17% January 2025.
Cash sales accounted for 27% of transactions in January, down from 28% a month ago and 29% in January 2025.
Total housing inventory at the end of January was down 0.8% from December and up 3.4% from January 2025 (1.22 million units). Unsold inventory sits at a 3.7-month supply at the current level up from 3.5 months in December and one year ago..
Southwestern Michigan Association of REALTORS
-
Luke Jeffries Chief Executive Officer
- February 25, 2026
- (269) 983-6375
- Send Email
